Hanmi Pharmaceutical (128940.KS) has officially launched a company-wide commercialization task force for its glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) obesity drug efpeglenatide (Efpe), targeting market approval within this year.
The company said Monday that it held a kick-off event for the task force "EFPE-PROJECT-Seosa" (Narrative) at Hanmi C&C Square in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 13th. The task force is an integrated body that handles all decisions related to Efpe's commercialization, designed to unify every function from development to marketing, production and distribution into a single execution system. Monthly official meetings will be held to progressively refine commercialization preparations.
The name "Seosa" (Narrative) was added because the development process of Efpe embodies Hanmi's core values of "creation, innovation and challenge," according to the company. Efpe was licensed out to Sanofi in 2015 but was returned after the partner's strategic shift, and its development direction was later redirected toward obesity treatment.
Key executives attended the event, including Hanmi Group Vice Chairwoman Lim Ju-hyun and CEO Hwang Sang-yeon, along with heads of the development, marketing and R&D divisions. "Efpe is the project that brought both the greatest expectations and the greatest setbacks in Hanmi's history," Lim said. "The process of not giving up and turning it into new opportunities itself shows Hanmi's identity." Hwang stressed, "If we have come this far through Hanmi's indomitable will, now we must achieve results beyond sales figures through meticulous and sophisticated business preparation."
The development strategy takes a phased approach, focusing on the obesity indication before expanding to diabetes. The company plans to enhance product competitiveness by combining real-world data (RWD)-based strategies with digital technology, while also mapping out a roadmap for the drug to evolve in various forms after the obesity treatment launch.
For its marketing strategy, the company unveiled the "CONVEMIUM" concept, combining convenience and premium quality. Rather than competing on price, Hanmi aims to leverage clinical value and ease of use to achieve rapid market entry from launch, targeting breakthrough growth from the first year of release.
On the R&D side, the key differentiator is that Efpe is a long-acting GLP-1 agonist applying Hanmi's platform technology "LAPSCOVERY." The company explained that its slow-absorption pharmacokinetic profile and stable blood concentration can reduce gastrointestinal side effects and the burden of dose escalation. "In the Phase 3 cardiovascular outcome trial (CVOT), results confirmed a reduction in the risk of 3-point major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE)," R&D Center Head Choi In-young said. "Efpe has the best cardiovascular and kidney disease protection efficacy among GLP-1 class drugs launched to date."
Hanmi plans to concretize commercialization preparations by integrally reviewing production, distribution and communication strategies through the task force.
"Unmet demand remains substantial for existing obesity treatments," Hwang said. "We will nurture Efpe as a premium Korean-style obesity treatment and grow Hanmi's obesity-metabolic new drug portfolio into an innovative growth engine."
